READER'STHEATER What it IS...
Reader's Theater is defined as "minimal theater in support of literature and reading," (Aaron Shepard). Reader's Theater gained popularity first in colleges and universities, and is now deemed an effective, efficient and engaging SDAIE Strategy for elementary classroom implementation, as its focus on drama, intonation, repetition and teamwork gives diverse readers access to core content despite language barriers.
Involving minimal or no set-up, minimal costuming, and preparation which can be as simple as photocopying scripts, Reader's Theater is an easy, enjoyable approach to reading for students and teachers alike. At the bottom of this page under Resources you will find help for scripting literature for your class, as well as resources for having your class script literature themselves. (To script literature is to turn a selected reading into script form in order to facilitate Reader's Theater.) Click here to access a list of free, printable Plays and Scripts.
What it DOES...
Increases Reading Fluency
Broadens Sight-Word Vocabulary
Improves Reading Comprehension
Provides Opportunities to Interpret Dialogue/Communicate Meaning
Increases Awareness and Appreciation of Plays as a Form of Literature.
HOW it does it...
Reader's Theater is an effective SDAIE Strategy which promotes fluency by means of repetition. Students are motivated to read their role as fluently as possible, so that they sound like an actor in front of the class. After all, what is an actor but a storyteller? And there's nothing worse than going to a play and feeling as though the actor is reciting lines! Students are intuitively aware of this as well and do their best to read their lines over and over again, trying out different voices, intonations, and gestures, so as to get their message across in a clear, solid performance.
This repetition leads not only to fluency with the selected text, but also to the acquisition of new sight words, a list which can potentially grow exponentially should Reader's Theater be incorporated into classroom life on a regular basis. See the following quote taken from: **The Power of Reader's Theater, Scholastic Instructor** "Reader's Theater proved to be almost a magic solution for Griffith: In just 10 weeks of using RT, every child in her class had gained a full grade level in reading. After a year, the children's gains had jumped to three years of growth. Griffith calls the transformation in their reading fluency totally remarkable." WHY it does it... Reader's Theater is an excellent SDAIE Strategy because gestures, accents, facial expressions, and tone all come together to convey meaning to the "audience members", (classmates), many of whom, especially ELLs, would not have access to the depth of comprehension were they left to interpret written language alone.
And to WHOM it does it BEST...
Reader's Theater is useful for students with Beginner-Advanced CELDT Levels, but with some considerations. Students in Levels 2 through 5 (Early Intermediate through Advanced), will benefit from the opportunity to refine their skills in "identify[ing] and understand[ing] more concrete details and some major abstract concepts during unmodified instruction," (CELDT Prof. Levels.
Through the use of BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) in their cooperative groupings, students can assist each other in refining one another's character's accents, intonations and movements. In other words, they can employ their own playground language in helping to interpret the scripted words, thereby enhancing understanding.
A CELDT Level 1 student will also be able to participate in Reader's Theater, and will benefit from a smaller role in a play, guidance from the teacher in reading their lines, and lots of help from fellow students in interpreting the character. The student should be placed in a group that has a bi-lingual member in it. This student will be responsible for helping the Level 1 student along the way.
Given the right grade level material, Reader's Theatre can be an effective tool for all ages!
Resources
For more resources and information, be sure to stop by The Teaching Heart-- your one-stop, online-shop for everythingReader's Theater!
Also, for free, helpful tips on Scripting, (turning a favored story into a workable script), visit the following link: RT Tips.
And for the busy teacher, download and print Reader's Theater Scripting Sheets, and have your students prepare their own scripts!
READER'S THEATER
What it IS...
Reader's Theater is defined as "minimal theater in support of literature and reading," (Aaron Shepard). Reader's Theater gained popularity first in colleges and universities, and is now deemed an effective, efficient and engaging SDAIE Strategy for elementary classroom implementation, as its focus on drama, intonation, repetition and teamwork gives diverse readers access to core content despite language barriers.
Involving minimal or no set-up, minimal costuming, and preparation which can be as simple as photocopying scripts, Reader's Theater is an easy, enjoyable approach to reading for students and teachers alike.
At the bottom of this page under Resources you will find help for scripting literature for your class, as well as resources for having your class script literature themselves.
(To script literature is to turn a selected reading into script form in order to facilitate Reader's Theater.)
Click here to access a list of free, printable Plays and Scripts.
What it DOES...
HOW it does it...
Reader's Theater is an effective SDAIE Strategy which promotes fluency by means of repetition. Students are motivated to read their role as fluently as possible, so that they sound like an actor in front of the class. After all, what is an actor but a storyteller? And there's nothing worse than going to a play and feeling as though the actor is reciting lines! Students are intuitively aware of this as well and do their best to read their lines over and over again, trying out different voices, intonations, and gestures, so as to get their message across in a clear, solid performance.
This repetition leads not only to fluency with the selected text, but also to the acquisition of new sight words, a list which can potentially grow exponentially should Reader's Theater be incorporated into classroom life on a regular basis.
See the following quote taken from:
**The Power of Reader's Theater, Scholastic Instructor**
"Reader's Theater proved to be almost a magic solution for Griffith: In just 10 weeks of using RT, every child in her class had gained a full grade level in reading. After a year, the children's gains had jumped to three years of growth. Griffith calls the transformation in their reading fluency totally remarkable."
WHY it does it...
Reader's Theater is an excellent SDAIE Strategy because
gestures, accents, facial expressions, and tone all come together to convey meaning to the "audience members", (classmates), many of whom, especially ELLs, would not have access to the depth of comprehension were they left to interpret written language alone.
And to WHOM it does it BEST...
Reader's Theater is useful for students with Beginner-Advanced CELDT Levels, but with some considerations. Students in Levels 2 through 5 (Early Intermediate through Advanced), will benefit from the opportunity to refine their skills in "identify[ing] and understand[ing] more concrete details and some major abstract concepts during unmodified instruction," (CELDT Prof. Levels.
Through the use of BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) in their cooperative groupings, students can assist each other in refining one another's character's accents, intonations and movements. In other words, they can employ their own playground language in helping to interpret the scripted words, thereby enhancing understanding.
A CELDT Level 1 student will also be able to participate in Reader's Theater, and will benefit from a smaller role in a play, guidance from the teacher in reading their lines, and lots of help from fellow students in interpreting the character. The student should be placed in a group that has a bi-lingual member in it. This student will be responsible for helping the Level 1 student along the way.
Given the right grade level material, Reader's Theatre can be an effective tool for all ages!
Resources
For more resources and information, be sure to stop by The Teaching Heart-- your one-stop, online-shop for everything Reader's Theater!
Also, for free, helpful tips on Scripting, (turning a favored story into a workable script), visit the following link: RT Tips.
And for the busy teacher, download and print Reader's Theater Scripting Sheets, and have your students prepare their own scripts!